Blinken urges Middle East leaders to press Hamas for Gaza ceasefire

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday, as he left Cairo for Israel, that he was urging leaders in the region to press Hamas to say yes to a ceasefire proposal to halt fighting in Gaza. Blinken said Hamas was the only outlier in not accepting the proposal for a three-phase deal involving the release of hostages and talks toward an end to fighting, to which he said Israel had agreed. Blinken had met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi. Read the best of our journalism: Subscribe to The Times and The Sunday Times YouTube channel: Find us on Facebook: Find us on Twitter: Find us on Instagram: